Sulaco

[SiL]

Burke wasn't junior, he was a director of special operations according to his ID card.

Nothing in the movie says he told them to report back directly, just to check a grid reference. He obviously didn't make it clear that anything found was his, as the Jordans ask about their claim rights and Lydecker says that as far as he's concerned anything they find is theirs - meaning if they found anything, the colony was planning to treat it as a regular find and had no particular deference to whoever sent them out.

Also important is the lag in communication they mention, which explains why they might not have immediately reported back and only thought to do so when it was too late.

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

Nothing in the movie says he told them to report back directly,

That's just my own assumption, figured Burke would want to deal with the matter personally. If they find nothing, no harm done, no loss of face. If they find something nice, all his credit. If they find something horrible, then he at least has a chance of covering up.

Makes sense, no?

[SiL]

If they find something horrible is exactly why he'd want to distance himself.

The colonists act like they don't need to report to him and they can claim it as they please.

Presumably, Burke would be able to claim it internally in the Company through the paper trail of him sending the order.

Keep in mind his backup plan was to bypass ICC, so he doesn't care what the gov says. Only what the company does.

Officially, the colonists' discovery. Internally, his.

EDIT

also, as I said in Ralfy's thread, just because he sent them there doesn't mean he expected them to get screwed even if they did find something.

Presumably he was hoping they'd find "something", report back, and then he could make a deal out of it and control further investigation/rights.

When the colonists went quiet he realised he done f**ked up because he didn't warn them about WHAT they might find and was liable.

[Acid_Reign161]

Just to jump into this convo half way, Burke was 100% working alone; the company knew absolutely nothing - as Burke puts it "if I made a major security situation out of it, everybody steps in - administration steps in - and there's no exclusive rights for anybody, nobody wins!" He didn't WANT the company to know, because he can't very well sell something he is going to try and smuggle through ICC quarantine to someone's bio weapons division if they are already running the show and thus already own it. The marines are nothing to do with Weyland Yutani - it's colonial administration. You have to think, WeYu aren't the only corporation funding colonies - Colonial marines serve all the colonies. It's very clear that when nobody else listened to Ripley's story, Burke went digging; the flight recorder isn't a problem because as we hear at the hearing, everybody is well aware and accept that the Nostromo landed on LV-426 for "reasons unknown" - nobody disputed that the landing took place - grid reference would be on there. It's just that nobody cared enough about the story of a crazy woman who detonated the engines if an M-class star freighter because of a supposed 8-foot acid bleeding organism, undocumented on over 300 surveyed worlds (they think she is a nut job). Ripley even asks "why not just checkout LV-426?" "Because I don't have to - there have been people there for over 20 years and they never complained about any hostile organism!" (Said in a snarky "oh, did nobody mention that to you before you dug yourself a hole with your crazy story" kind of way).

Also, I keep seeing in this convo mention of colonists collecting "living and dead facehuggers from the derelict" - you know that didn't happen, right? The dead parasites would have fallen from the faces of infected colonists (presumably those that answered the Jordan's mayday) - the two living huggers were "surgically removed before embryo implantation" - they killed the hosts during the procedure by removing them. Basically, think back to the first movie how it goes down with Kane, they would have woken up, dead huggers in medlab, short term amnesia from being implanted so knowing nothing of inside the derelict, and in the case of the two colonists that facehuggers were removed - the huggers were feeding them oxygen, so those colonists died. The rest, they gave birth to what started the infestation at the colony. Think how fast it happens in 'Alien' - less than 24 hours. Why would anyone send an immediate distress signal? Small creatures just emerged from your staff's chests. Your first response is find the little f**kers, avoid panic if possible (there are families here) and report back when you have your shit under control - you don't want to look bad. By the time anyone encounters an adult Xenomorph it's already too late, nobody is sitting down to type a report at a computer screen that's gonna take two weeks to be read...you are building barricades, getting together anything that could be used as defensive weapons etc. shit hits the fan fast with these things before you have a chance to assess.

[ralfy]

Assuming that he worked by himself, that would have meant only he had access to communications with the colony.

Why? He sent the colony a request to check out some co-ordinates and report back to him directly. Burke was a junior executive at Weyland Yutani. He could do things like that.

On top of that, his only source for the location of the alien ship would have been any logs from Ripley's lifeboat, which everyone else in the inquest would have gotten as well, which would make the claim that he was working by himself untenable.

No one else at the inquest was taking Ripley's story seriously. He decided to give her story the benefit of doubt, cast a line and see if he actually caught something.

In this case, though, what I can say is that it takes a lot of pull to get a military contingent on what's supposed to be a repair mission.

Burke got himself a dreg squad of undisciplined marines with one medic, commanded by a very green lieutenant.

As far as USCM command were concerned they were problably going to check out nothing more than a broken transmitter, and were obligated under their agreement with the ICC and WY to at least send a token investigation force. It wouldn't have required much pull, just some standard paperwork.

As I explained earlier and in another thread, the only source for those coordinates would have been logs from the lifeboat, and everyone else in the board of inquiry had access to them, too, and not just Burke. What's weirder is that van Leuwen comes up with an absurd excuse: they don't have to check the coordinates because colonists have been on the rock for years and didn't see anything. Worse, that point was raised after the inquiry, and not during.

Asking the manager of the colony to investigate the site isn't hard to do, as someone like Burke did it easily. What's notable in light of that, though, is the point that not taking Ripley seriously makes no sense because the company had a policy of requiring crew members to investigate similar, as shown in the first movie. In short, they take such claims very seriously. On top of that, the Marines implied that they had been engaged in various "bug hunts" and even had encounters with "Arcturians," which makes excuses from the board (and which were given because Ripley asked them to investigate the matter too late) illogical. And that's something that Ripley didn't even bother to contest, and probably because she raised the issue too late.

Given that, what's more likely is that they wanted to show Ripley that they didn't believe her so that they could blame her, and then investigate the matter, anyway.

Finally, that was a "dreg squad" that apparently focuses on "bug hunts," with a logo in their drop ship even showing that, and to follow the illogical that Burke did everything by himself, owned by a government working with the company on a very expensive project whose colonists have now gone offline, and after Burke gives them information that's supposed to be something that he only knows (to maintain the narrative that the company and government didn't know and didn't care) but something he could have only gotten from information made available to everyone involved in the board.

In light of this topic thread, I think only ony last paragraph above is on-topic, but I'd like to assure the OP and mods that the other points are related to it.

If you want to discuss the other points further, feel free to do so in the thread I shared earlier. For now, what I can say given the explanation of the size of the Sulaco is that its function shows that Burke didn't work alone, that it wasn't obviously a mission to repair a downed transmitter, and that it also wasn't a rescue mission.

Nothing in the movie says he told them to report back directly,

That's just my own assumption, figured Burke would want to deal with the matter personally. If they find nothing, no harm done, no loss of face. If they find something nice, all his credit. If they find something horrible, then he at least has a chance of covering up.

Makes sense, no?

FWIW, that still shows that he didn't work alone, and given the type of ship used and crew, they also didn't go on a mission simply to check a downed transmitter or to rescue colonists' daughters (LOL).

Also, the goal is not simply to "find something horrible" but to collect artefacts and organisms that could be weaponized, as clearly revealed in the first movie.

Also, there's no sense of him covering things up as the only way he could have gotten the coordinates was from the lifeboat logs, and the company and government officials had access to them, too.

Given all that, it's clear why the Sulaco was used.

Just to jump into this convo half way, Burke was 100% working alone; the company knew absolutely nothing - as Burke puts it "if I made a major security situation out of it, everybody steps in - administration steps in - and there's no exclusive rights for anybody, nobody wins!" He didn't WANT the company to know, because he can't very well sell something he is going to try and smuggle through ICC quarantine to someone's bio weapons division if they are already running the show and thus already own it. The marines are nothing to do with Weyland Yutani - it's colonial administration. You have to think, WeYu aren't the only corporation funding colonies - Colonial marines serve all the colonies. It's very clear that when nobody else listened to Ripley's story, Burke went digging; the flight recorder isn't a problem because as we hear at the hearing, everybody is well aware and accept that the Nostromo landed on LV-426 for "reasons unknown" - nobody disputed that the landing took place - grid reference would be on there. It's just that nobody cared enough about the story of a crazy woman who detonated the engines if an M-class star freighter because of a supposed 8-foot acid bleeding organism, undocumented on over 300 surveyed worlds (they think she is a nut job). Ripley even asks "why not just checkout LV-426?" "Because I don't have to - there have been people there for over 20 years and they never complained about any hostile organism!" (Said in a snarky "oh, did nobody mention that to you before you dug yourself a hole with your crazy story" kind of way).

Also, I keep seeing in this convo mention of colonists collecting "living and dead facehuggers from the derelict" - you know that didn't happen, right? The dead parasites would have fallen from the faces of infected colonists (presumably those that answered the Jordan's mayday) - the two living huggers were "surgically removed before embryo implantation" - they killed the hosts during the procedure by removing them. Basically, think back to the first movie how it goes down with Kane, they would have woken up, dead huggers in medlab, short term amnesia from being implanted so knowing nothing of inside the derelict, and in the case of the two colonists that facehuggers were removed - the huggers were feeding them oxygen, so those colonists died. The rest, they gave birth to what started the infestation at the colony. Think how fast it happens in 'Alien' - less than 24 hours. Why would anyone send an immediate distress signal? Small creatures just emerged from your staff's chests. Your first response is find the little f**kers, avoid panic if possible (there are families here) and report back when you have your shit under control - you don't want to look bad. By the time anyone encounters an adult Xenomorph it's already too late, nobody is sitting down to type a report at a computer screen that's gonna take two weeks to be read...you are building barricades, getting together anything that could be used as defensive weapons etc. shit hits the fan fast with these things before you have a chance to assess.

How could the company and even government not know if the only source of information for the coordinates was the lifeboat logs which were made available to all board members, and even to Ripley?

The terraforming process was a joint program involving company and government. That means the latter was very much involved.

In addition, the company had a very clear policy of investigating such matter for profit and weaponizing them, among others, and the main recipient of weaponized technology? The military and the government!

Add to this the Marines' point about bug hunts and Arcturians, and it looks like the claim that Burke acted alone and both the company and the government didn't know and didn't care is questionable.

What about the speed by which infestation took place? Unless the transmitter went down right after the Jordens arrived, then that means the colonists chose not to send at least one short note about what they found or even a distress call. That sounds absurd: some will find them but the others, including the manager and those manning the transmitter, would have contacted the company and government immediately.

About not finding time to type, didn't that happen twice in the first movie?

Given such, I don't think your points add up.

In any event, these are all off-topic but related to the thread because they show why not only the Sulaco was sent but why Ripley was asked to join.

[Acid_Reign161]

How could the company and even government not know if the only source of information for the coordinates was the lifeboat logs which were made available to all board members, and even to Ripley?

The terraforming process was a joint program involving company and government. That means the latter was very much involved.

In addition, the company had a very clear policy of investigating such matter for profit and weaponizing them, among others, and the main recipient of weaponized technology? The military and the government!

Add to this the Marines' point about bug hunts and Arcturians, and it looks like the claim that Burke acted alone and both the company and the government didn't know and didn't care is questionable.

What about the speed by which infestation took place? Unless the transmitter went down right after the Jordens arrived, then that means the colonists chose not to send at least one short note about what they found or even a distress call. That sounds absurd: some will find them but the others, including the manager and those manning the transmitter, would have contacted the company and government immediately.

About not finding time to type, didn't that happen twice in the first movie?

Given such, I don't think your points add up.

In any event, these are all off-topic but related to the thread because they show why not only the Sulaco was sent but why Ripley was asked to join.

Lol, you've got to get this whole 'big badda company' like they are an all-seeing all-knowing entity out of your head... in the first two movies, we see little evidence of that, and a lot of evidence to support self-serving greedy individuals.

So even though I already addressed these issues, here we go again;

1: it wasn't that they didn't know the location the Nostromo landed- they acknowledge and accept the Nostromo landed 'for reasons unknown' they simply don't believe Ripley's story regarding the ship or the alien and question her mental state. This is made abundantly clear in the movie.

2: Again, that's not how it works at all. Ok, so we have a Walmart store burning down with employees inside- fire and rescue are dispatched. Fire and rescue have nothing to do with Walmart, and are not owned by Walmart. There is however a Walmart manager on site at the scene to assess, as the company has a monetary interest in its property. The fire and rescue team are not the least bit interested in the contents or value of the burning store, nor are they dispatched to ensure safe return of important Walmart files from the burning office in the back. Now change Walmart for WeYu, and fire and rescue for Colonial Marines.

3. Ok, to use a real-world scenario again;
The US military has a keen interest in developing new weapons. A truck driver, who set his own truck and cargo on fire before falling into a coma for a decade, wakes up and starts spouting stories of an alien spaceship being responsible. Tell me, do you imagine the US government is now about to launch a search for the mysterious space ship? They *didnt care* - Ripley was a nut job, cost them a lot of money, and in their views they "let her off lightly" by not pursuing criminal charges for their losses, due in part that they think she is mentally unwell.

4. The speed of the infestation is in part due to the fact that the colonists doesn't know what we, the movie audience know. Same as the first movie, nobody knows what to expect - they know nothing about the Xenomorph. Again, if I see a non-native spider just bit my friend, I take them to hospital. I don't immediately get on the phone to the White House and request an assault team to deal with the problem. This is a colony, they have their own police/Marshalls, security, doctors. They deal with their own.  By the time you have several adult Xenomorph in the mix, and you realise you are no longer looking for several worm like creatures that just burst from your staffs chest, you have bigger problems to fry. Besides, we have no idea how fast the xeno assault came, the last stand took place in operations, but we don't know who was actually there... could have been civvies. I know how to operate a PC, I don't know my managers password to send level 1 communications over the network (always think 'real world'- this isn't Star Trek, these are your average joes, normal people with normal real-world problems (aside from, you know, the xeno)

[ralfy]

How could the company and even government not know if the only source of information for the coordinates was the lifeboat logs which were made available to all board members, and even to Ripley?

The terraforming process was a joint program involving company and government. That means the latter was very much involved.

In addition, the company had a very clear policy of investigating such matter for profit and weaponizing them, among others, and the main recipient of weaponized technology? The military and the government!

Add to this the Marines' point about bug hunts and Arcturians, and it looks like the claim that Burke acted alone and both the company and the government didn't know and didn't care is questionable.

What about the speed by which infestation took place? Unless the transmitter went down right after the Jordens arrived, then that means the colonists chose not to send at least one short note about what they found or even a distress call. That sounds absurd: some will find them but the others, including the manager and those manning the transmitter, would have contacted the company and government immediately.

About not finding time to type, didn't that happen twice in the first movie?

Given such, I don't think your points add up.

In any event, these are all off-topic but related to the thread because they show why not only the Sulaco was sent but why Ripley was asked to join.

Lol, you've got to get this whole 'big badda company' like they are an all-seeing all-knowing entity out of your head... in the first two movies, we see little evidence of that, and a lot of evidence to support self-serving greedy individuals.

So even though I already addressed these issues, here we go again;

1: it wasn't that they didn't know the location the Nostromo landed- they acknowledge and accept the Nostromo landed 'for reasons unknown' they simply don't believe Ripley's story regarding the ship or the alien and question her mental state. This is made abundantly clear in the movie.

2: Again, that's not how it works at all. Ok, so we have a Walmart store burning down with employees inside- fire and rescue are dispatched. Fire and rescue have nothing to do with Walmart, and are not owned by Walmart. There is however a Walmart manager on site at the scene to assess, as the company has a monetary interest in its property. The fire and rescue team are not the least bit interested in the contents or value of the burning store, nor are they dispatched to ensure safe return of important Walmart files from the burning office in the back. Now change Walmart for WeYu, and fire and rescue for Colonial Marines.

3. Ok, to use a real-world scenario again;
The US military has a keen interest in developing new weapons. A truck driver, who set his own truck and cargo on fire before falling into a coma for a decade, wakes up and starts spouting stories of an alien spaceship being responsible. Tell me, do you imagine the US government is now about to launch a search for the mysterious space ship? They *didnt care* - Ripley was a nut job, cost them a lot of money, and in their views they "let her off lightly" by not pursuing criminal charges for their losses, due in part that they think she is mentally unwell.

4. The speed of the infestation is in part due to the fact that the colonists doesn't know what we, the movie audience know. Same as the first movie, nobody knows what to expect - they know nothing about the Xenomorph. Again, if I see a non-native spider just bit my friend, I take them to hospital. I don't immediately get on the phone to the White House and request an assault team to deal with the problem. This is a colony, they have their own police/Marshalls, security, doctors. They deal with their own.  By the time you have several adult Xenomorph in the mix, and you realise you are no longer looking for several worm like creatures that just burst from your staffs chest, you have bigger problems to fry. Besides, we have no idea how fast the xeno assault came, the last stand took place in operations, but we don't know who was actually there... could have been civvies. I know how to operate a PC, I don't know my managers password to send level 1 communications over the network (always think 'real world'- this isn't Star Trek, these are your average joes, normal people with normal real-world problems (aside from, you know, the xeno)

Your first point makes no sense. Why would they not believe Ripley given the ff.?

They are very interested in such because they want to weaponize findings, and are even willing to sacrifice crew members to do so, as seen in the first movie. In the second movie, the Marines talked about "Arcturians," which means they have encountered similar.

About your Walmart analogy: this "Walmart" is a very large and expensive complex run by both the company and the government. Second, it's a project that's far away, which means it should have come up with redundancies and measures anticipating that, unlike an actual Walmart that's very remote and can't be reached easily by even firefighters and repair and rescue teams. I think you'll be getting the picture on this, so don't waste your time with such analogies.

About your analogy of a truck driver: it's actually a truck driver that's required to investigate phenomena and is deemed expendable by the company that would use any discoveries to sell to the military, which in turn would obviously find such discoveries important, too.

More important, the same location where the truck driver was required to investigate is near a very expensive complex run by both the government and the military. But for some reason, you think it makes sense for both of them not to bother investigating the location by asking people in the complex that they run to do so, and then just send a repair team to find out what happened when they lose contact with the complex, but a repair team that happens to include a repair contingent and one of the truck drivers.

About your last point, the crew managed to consult Mother about how to stop the organism, showing that the infestation was not exactly that fast, especially given the point that the creature has to gestate first. That means the colonists could have easily even posted short reports on just their findings, which in turn could have alerted government and colony officials.

Thus, the belief that the colony was not able to transmit anything, even about what happened to Jorden, because the infestation spread so quickly, is questionable. The fact that they were able to extract several facehuggers, both living and dead, and the time it took the Nostromo crew to even attempt that, shows that the colonists had more than enough time to even send one message.

I was going to say that the Nostromo crew could have done the same, i.e., send messages about their findings (especially if they want "shares" on revenues generated from the discovery) even as Ash was still "collating." But to maintain the narrative that the company didn't know what to the Nostromo, one would have to imagine that they didn't. Also, the logs would show that they only landed to investigate, and for some reason didn't show that the ship computer woke up the crew and detected the distress signal, all of which would have supported Ripley's claims.

I was also going to add that prison officials were also able to send messages back and forth with the company and government about what they found in the third movie, and were issued instructions on what to do, but I don't know why they were able to do that in Florina but not in the terraforming colony.

In any event, all of these you can counter in the thread I mentioned earlier. For this thread, what's clear is that they sent the Sulaco because they knew that Ripley was right, but that they didn't want Ripley to know that. At the same time, Ripley would have known easily herself (as she was asked to join what should be only a repair mission, and Burke accompanied by a Marine officer).

Also, it's questionable that Burke worked alone because the company and government knew what he knew from the logs in the lifeboat, the first has a policy of investigating phenomena for monetization, and the latter a history of using weapons derived from the same.

[SiL]

@Acid_Reign161  I've had this same conversation using these same points, you are wasting your time.

[Local Trouble]

Dear ralfy,

I hope this letter finds you well. You posed an interesting question about the decision by the U.S. military and the Extrasolar Colonization Administration (ECA) to dispatch the Colonial Marines to LV-426, seemingly due to a downed transmitter. I'll try to shed some light on this.

First, let's consider the nature of the U.S. military and ECA's roles in space exploration and colonization. Both these entities are charged with safeguarding the interests of humanity on a vast cosmic scale. Their responsibilities span not only territorial claims and resource exploitation but also include the safety and well-being of colonists and maintaining peace and security in human-occupied space.

The case of LV-426 is a delicate one, primarily because the colony was co-financed by the company against mineral rights. Despite this, it's important to understand that the company's financial involvement did not bestow upon it any authority to command military forces or to unilaterally make decisions about the safety of the colony.

In responding to the situation on LV-426, the military and ECA likely adhered to a protocol designed to handle potential threats or emergencies. The absence of communications from a colony is, at the very least, a cause for concern. At worst, it could imply a catastrophe that could endanger lives or strategic interests. Therefore, even if the cause was suspected to be a mere downed transmitter, it would still necessitate a robust response to confirm the situation and ensure the safety of the colonists.

Sending the Colonial Marines might seem like an overreaction for a potential technical glitch, but their deployment can be seen as a precautionary measure. The Marines are well-equipped to handle a variety of situations, from technical repair and troubleshooting to crisis management in the event of an actual disaster. Also, if a more sinister event had occurred, such as an insurrection or an extraterrestrial encounter, a rapid and well-armed response would be crucial.

The ultimate goal of this decision would be to prioritize the safety and security of human lives and assets over potential cost implications. Given the vast distances and the inherent risks involved in extrasolar colonization, it is generally better to err on the side of caution.

I hope this explanation has helped shed some light on why the Colonial Marines were sent to LV-426. Please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions on this or any other topic.

Best regards,

ChatGPT

[Necronomicon II]

That's a fine answer.

[Acid_Reign161]

@Acid_Reign161  I've had this same conversation using these same points, you are wasting your time.

Yes, it does appear to be falling on deaf ears... 😅 Evidently some people watched a different Alien Trilogy than we did. 🤣

[ralfy]

Dear ralfy,

I hope this letter finds you well. You posed an interesting question about the decision by the U.S. military and the Extrasolar Colonization Administration (ECA) to dispatch the Colonial Marines to LV-426, seemingly due to a downed transmitter. I'll try to shed some light on this.

First, let's consider the nature of the U.S. military and ECA's roles in space exploration and colonization. Both these entities are charged with safeguarding the interests of humanity on a vast cosmic scale. Their responsibilities span not only territorial claims and resource exploitation but also include the safety and well-being of colonists and maintaining peace and security in human-occupied space.

The case of LV-426 is a delicate one, primarily because the colony was co-financed by the company against mineral rights. Despite this, it's important to understand that the company's financial involvement did not bestow upon it any authority to command military forces or to unilaterally make decisions about the safety of the colony.

In responding to the situation on LV-426, the military and ECA likely adhered to a protocol designed to handle potential threats or emergencies. The absence of communications from a colony is, at the very least, a cause for concern. At worst, it could imply a catastrophe that could endanger lives or strategic interests. Therefore, even if the cause was suspected to be a mere downed transmitter, it would still necessitate a robust response to confirm the situation and ensure the safety of the colonists.

Sending the Colonial Marines might seem like an overreaction for a potential technical glitch, but their deployment can be seen as a precautionary measure. The Marines are well-equipped to handle a variety of situations, from technical repair and troubleshooting to crisis management in the event of an actual disaster. Also, if a more sinister event had occurred, such as an insurrection or an extraterrestrial encounter, a rapid and well-armed response would be crucial.

The ultimate goal of this decision would be to prioritize the safety and security of human lives and assets over potential cost implications. Given the vast distances and the inherent risks involved in extrasolar colonization, it is generally better to err on the side of caution.

I hope this explanation has helped shed some light on why the Colonial Marines were sent to LV-426. Please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions on this or any other topic.

Best regards,

ChatGPT

I don't think they thought that only a glitch took place for reasons given earlier. To recap,

The company has a history of investigating these thoroughly for monetization, and even willing to sacrifice their employees and assets to do so. And it's obvious that if bioweapons are involved, then the government via the military would profit from that, too.

They had Space Marines engaged in "bug hunts" and encountering "Arcturians," so they definitely encountered various organisms in other worlds, too. Also, those points question what one board member said about what they found (or didn't) in hundreds of worlds.

They already had the location of the derelict alien ship, so it was simply a matter of investigating it. And yet for some weird reason the board does not choose to do so, Ripley says only but after she's penalized, and Burke is supposed to do so by himself even though everyone in the board and Ripley know the location, too.

As revealed in this thread, the team did not come prepared, as it had only one combat medic, and correctly so, because it was a rescue mission. And given Bishop's attention towards the facehuggers, the goal was essentially to retrieve what was found.

Given the fact that "bug hunters" were chosen and that Ripley was asked to join them (and to even come up with a brief for the Marines), then that means they either believe what Ripley said or the infestation was not quick, just like in the first movie, and that the colony was able to report what they found. I think it's both. Also, in which case, Ripley's off the hook, but for some reason she doesn't connect the dots to say so.

There are more problems that take place when you think of the latter plus Ripley's failure to raise the point about the location of the alien ship during the inquiry, after which van Leuwen would have (wrongly) pointed out to her that they don't need to check the location because colonists had been living on the rock for years and didn't see anything (LOL).

Anyway, this is still on-topic because it explains why the Sulaco was used.

@Acid_Reign161  I've had this same conversation using these same points, you are wasting your time.

Yes, it does appear to be falling on deaf ears... 😅 Evidently some people watched a different Alien Trilogy than we did. 🤣

Every point I gave came from the movie. LOL.

The board refers to ship's logs found in the lifeboat, but for some weird reason they only refer to the fact that the Nostromo landed on the rock and took off. Nothing about the ship computer waking the crew and reporting a distress beacon and changing the ship course, and nothing about the location of the landing site. Why? Because it was never raised throughout the inquiry, and by Ripley only after she's sentenced. Why do we know that? Because the company would have raised the info on the colony then. Ripley hears about it for the first time only after the hearing.

To make matters worse, when she asks van Leuwen to investigate the location, he says they don't have to because colonists have been living on the rock and didn't see anything. Which, for anyone with common sense, is a wrong answer.

So, where did Burke get the location information? If it's from the logs in the lifeboat, then why didn't Ripley raise that point during the inquiry? The movie shows that it was raised after, which is why she's shocked after discovering that there was a colony on the rock. And if Burke didn't get it from the log, then where?

Later, Burke tells Ripley that they lost transmission, but it's probably only a downed transmitter. But just in case, they need to send an armed contingent to be sure, and one that specializes in "bug hunts" and encountered "Arcturians" (both also raised in the movie, but during the briefing scene), and want Ripley to come along because, you know, she's good in fixing transmitters. (LOL) In return, they can implicitly take back their insistence that she's a liar. (Another LOL.)

And on and on an on. I already raised these points in this and in the other thread, it it looks like most either didn't watch the movie more than once or that they're trying to maintain their fanboi view. Whatever, you're free to discuss this matter further in the other thread. All I'm giving are what I think are the better reasons why the Sulaco was sent, and it definitely involves more than just a downed transmitter, sending any armed group "just to be sure," Burke working alone, and Ripley not thinking straight as she does not even consider asking the board to investigate the location as it's the only evidence she has available to prove her innocence, and then does not question why she's asked to join a mission that's supposed to be based on the premise that she was not telling the truth.





One more point: given what happened in the third movie, where they were in frequent communication with the company, then it looks like there is either inconsistent technological development or incredible levels of design and human flaws in their systems. But since there are too many, and few of them involve the Sulaco itself, then I'll mention them in the other thread.

https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/index.php?topic=59486.180

But you can probably share some points here for the OP.

[Local Trouble]

Dear ralfy,

I understand your point about the knowledge of the derelict alien ship's location and the seemingly lackluster response from the board, Ripley, and Burke. However, there are a few factors that may provide additional context and clarification to this issue.

Firstly, when considering Ripley's account, the board had to evaluate its credibility and relevance against existing evidence. If Ripley's story were accurate, then it stands to reason that the beacon from the alien ship would have been detected by the colonists at LV-426 many years earlier. The lack of any reports about such a beacon over an extended period of colonization significantly undermines the credibility of Ripley's account in the eyes of the board.

Moreover, the beacon was not something that required precise coordinates to find. If it were operational, any ship with the appropriate detection equipment in the vicinity would have been able to home in on it, just as the Nostromo did. The absence of any other independent confirmation of the beacon raises further doubts about its existence.

Secondly, during the inquest, the board was privy to a key piece of information that Ripley wasn't: LV-426 had been colonized for more than 20 years without any complaint or report of a hostile organism or an active beacon. This fact, which was not shared with Ripley before the inquest, casts further doubt on her story.

This withholding of information could be viewed as an investigative measure, similar to how police might withhold certain facts during an interrogation. By not revealing this fact to Ripley, the board could test the veracity of her story against the known realities of LV-426.

Finally, Burke's individual actions should not be seen as reflecting the board's intent or collective decision-making. His assignment may well have been influenced by personal ambition, company politics, or other factors that don't directly correspond to the collective wisdom or intent of the board.

Taking these factors into account, it's clear that the decision not to investigate the alien ship was not made lightly or without reason. While the situation can certainly be critiqued in retrospect, the decisions made at the time were based on the evidence available and were not necessarily indicative of negligence or ill intent.

I hope this provides a clearer understanding of the reasoning behind the board's decision and the actions of the individuals involved.

Best regards,

ChatGPT

[Acid_Reign161]

it looks like most either didn't watch the movie more than once or that they're trying to maintain their fanboi view.

[ralfy]

Dear ralfy,

I understand your point about the knowledge of the derelict alien ship's location and the seemingly lackluster response from the board, Ripley, and Burke. However, there are a few factors that may provide additional context and clarification to this issue.

Firstly, when considering Ripley's account, the board had to evaluate its credibility and relevance against existing evidence. If Ripley's story were accurate, then it stands to reason that the beacon from the alien ship would have been detected by the colonists at LV-426 many years earlier. The lack of any reports about such a beacon over an extended period of colonization significantly undermines the credibility of Ripley's account in the eyes of the board.

Moreover, the beacon was not something that required precise coordinates to find. If it were operational, any ship with the appropriate detection equipment in the vicinity would have been able to home in on it, just as the Nostromo did. The absence of any other independent confirmation of the beacon raises further doubts about its existence.

Secondly, during the inquest, the board was privy to a key piece of information that Ripley wasn't: LV-426 had been colonized for more than 20 years without any complaint or report of a hostile organism or an active beacon. This fact, which was not shared with Ripley before the inquest, casts further doubt on her story.

This withholding of information could be viewed as an investigative measure, similar to how police might withhold certain facts during an interrogation. By not revealing this fact to Ripley, the board could test the veracity of her story against the known realities of LV-426.

Finally, Burke's individual actions should not be seen as reflecting the board's intent or collective decision-making. His assignment may well have been influenced by personal ambition, company politics, or other factors that don't directly correspond to the collective wisdom or intent of the board.

Taking these factors into account, it's clear that the decision not to investigate the alien ship was not made lightly or without reason. While the situation can certainly be critiqued in retrospect, the decisions made at the time were based on the evidence available and were not necessarily indicative of negligence or ill intent.

I hope this provides a clearer understanding of the reasoning behind the board's decision and the actions of the individuals involved.

Best regards,

ChatGPT

The beacon didn't need to continue operating because Burke got the location info, and there's no other source for that except the lifeboat logs. In which case, Ripley and the board would have had access to the same. The rest of my argument is seen in previous posts.

it looks like most either didn't watch the movie more than once or that they're trying to maintain their fanboi view.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ5rTNWSaLc

You can always prove otherwise by addressing the rest of my post.